Clothes wringer



Sept. 4, 1923. 1,466,914

G. N. MEVES CLOTHES WRINGER' Filed March 27, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 4; 1923. 1,465,914

. G. N. MEVES GLQTHES WRINGER Filed March 27, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 4, 1923.

mean i GUSTAV N. MEVES, OF DAVENPORT, IOWA.

CLOTHES WBINGER.

Application filed March 27, 1920. Serial No. 369,348.

T 0 cl; whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUSTAV N. Name, a citizen of the United States, and a resident .of Davenport, in the county of Scott and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes Wringers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in wringers for washing machines, and refers more particularly to safety means for separating the wringer rolls or permitting them to separate in the event that the hand or fingers of the operator are caught between the rolls and thereby avoid danger of seriously injuring the hand or fingers. The structure for thus separating or allowing the rolls to separate can also be connected with the driving means for one of the rolls so that when said structure is operative to permit or cause the rolls to separate, driving connection between one of the rolls and the means which drives or rotates it may be cut off.

'VVith respect to the construction and operation of the safety mechanism, it is proposed to so construct the wringer that one of the wringer rolls will be moved by hand or foot power towards the other roll during the wringing operation, and the means for thus moving one of the rolls towards the other is a means on which foot or hand pressure, preferably foot pressure, is maintained during the wringing operation so that in the event the operator should allow her fingers to be caught between the wringing rolls, she will shift her posit-ionso as to relieve bearing pressure of one of the rolls on the other and allow them to separate so as to relieve crushing pressure on her fingers.

In the construction shown, the upper 'wringer roll" is the one which is moved towards the lower wringer roll when the wringer is in operation so as to thereby effect the proper pressure of one roll towards the other, and the bearings for the lower roll are fixed relatively to the wringer sup port, while the bearings for the upper wringer roll are movable relatively to the lower wringer roll bearings. Also in the construction shown the means for depresscle to the other. In this construction it will be apparent that if the operator should find her fingers being drawn between the rolls, she will move her position so as to take her foot ofi' of the foot operating device, whereupon the upper wringer roll will separate from the lower roll and relieve pressure on her fingers.

In the present construction, the foot device, by which the upper wringer roll is pressed toward the lower wringer roll, can be connected to the power means which drive the lower wringer roll, and which itself is driven, or may be driven, from the mechanism or gearing that operates the washingmechanism inside the tub, so that when foot pressure is relieved from the device that presses the upper wringer roll towards the lower wringer roll, the gearing which drives the lower wringer'roll may be demeshed from cooperative earing so that driving power may be isconnected from the wringer.

It will be understood that the construction shown in the drawings is merely illustrative of one practical embodiment ofmy improvements with one type of machine and as to claims wherein the particular illustrative embodiment of the invention is set forth.

In the drawings;

Figure 1 is an end view partially broken away and in section to illustrate one type of wringer and washing machine to which my invention can be applied.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of one of the wringer standards.

Figure 3 is a part vertical section of the assembled standard and a portion of the operating mechanism.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a fitting for transmitting foot pressure movement, from the foot operated device to the bearings for the-upper wringer roll.

Figure is an enlarged section on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a fragment of the wringer and its support, showing the upper roll relieved from the lower roll.

The manner of connecting driving power to a washing machine, in connection with which the wringer is used or adapted to be used, is not in itself an essential structural feature of the present invention, it being only necessary to illustrate herein the means by which driving power can be cut off from the wringer when one wringer roll is released from the other.

As shown in the drawings, and referring to a. bench type of machine, 10 designates the horizontal portion of the bench that is supported on legs 11. 12 designates the wringer as a whole which embraces in its construction parallel upright standards 13, 13 which carry bearings 14, 15 for the re spective lower and upper wringer rolls 16, 17 that extend between said standards and are provided with gears 19, 20 by which'one of the rolls is operated from the other.

The support for the wringer comprises upper and lower horizontal members 21, 22 and vertical members 23, the latter of which are arranged outside of the bench 10 to provide clearance for the tubs; the members 21, 22 of the wringer support being also spaced apart and the latter from each other a distance to provide clearance for the tubs. Supported on the lower ends of the legs 23 of the wringer frame is a horizontal platform 24 on which may be mounted any suit able form of shaft and its bearings for driving the washing machine and the wringer, as the brackets 25 in which is mounted a drive shaft 26 that is adapted to be connected in any suitable manner with the washing machine mechanism. 27 designates a bevel pinion that may be splined or otherwise non-rotatively fixed to the shaft 26 whereby it rotates therewith, but can move longitudinally of the shaft. The shaft can be squared in its part on which the pinion 27 slides for this purpose. 28 designates a horizontal counter shaft that is provided at one end with a bevel gear 29 that meshes with the bevel pinion 27 and may be suitably mounted in the bearing 30 that may be slidably mounted onthe shaft 26. At the outer end of the counter shaft 28 it is mounted in a bearing 31 and said outer end of 'the counter shaft carries a bevel pinion 32 which meshes with a bevel pinion 33 that is fixed to the lower end of an upright shaft 34 at one side of the bench and wringer frame. Said upright shaft is mounted in a lower bearing 35 and an upper bearing 36 which latter may be fixed in any suitable manner to one of the cross connecting bars, 37, 38 that extend between and tie the lower ends of the wringer-standards 13 together. The upper end of the upright shaft 34 is provided with a bevel gear 39 that meshes with a bevel gear 40 that is splined to the adjacent end of the shaft 41 of the lower wringer roll. Said bevel gear 40 is formed with a hub 42 which is grooved to receive the upper forked end -of a shifter lever 43 that is pivoted at 44 to the bracket 36 and extends towards the platform 21 of the wringer support. The lower end of the shifter lever is loosely connected to an endwise movable bar 45 that is parallel to the tie bars 37 and 38 and lies in front of the former tie bar. With this construction it will be noted that endwise movement of the bar 45 will swing the shifter lever 43 on its pivot 44 so as to mesh and demesh the bevel gears 39 and 40.

When my improvements are applied to the general type of wringer mechanism shown, the upper or bodily movable wringer roll can be operatively connected with said bar 45 so that when the bar is moved endwise to mesh or demesh the gears 39 and 40 and to, therefore, connect the wringer to the driving power or disconnect it therefrom, respectively, the said upper wringer roll will be operated to move it towards or from the lower or fixed wringer roll. In the construction shown, the bar 45 is moved endwise through the operation of a vertically arranged treadle member 48. Said member is arranged vertically and at one side of the machine, is guided in a bracket 49, which is fixed to the movable wringer support and is provided at its lower end with a foot piece on which the foot of the operator can be placed to depress the member 48. The upper end of the member 48 is turned inwardly at 51 and is provided with an oblique terminal portion 52 that is loosely connected at 53 to a bell crank lever 54 which is pivoted at 55 to the forward tie member 37. The adjacent end of the bar 45 is pivoted at 56 to the other arm of the bell crank lever. A spring, herein shown as having the form of a spiral expansion spring 58, surrounds the member 48 between the bracket 49 and a collar 59 on the member 48, the tendency of which is to urge said member 48 upwardly and, through the bell crank 54 and bar 45 to act on the shifter 43 to demesh the gears 40 and 39, and thereby cut off power from the wringer. Therefore, when the foot of the operator is placed on the foot piece 50, the reverse action occurs which causes the gear 40 to mesh with the gear 39 and thereby connect power, delivered through shaft 34, to the shaft of the lower wringer roll.

Referring now to the means for controlling the upper wringer roll through the treadle bar or member 48, the same is made as follows Each of the standards 13 for the wringer:

comprises a portion 60 usually made of wood and provided with a through.- opening to a receive the bea'ringbushing 14 for the lower wringer roll shaft, and comprises additionally above said bearing a vertically slotted portion to produce two laterally separated guide arms 61, bounding a vertical guide opening or slot 62. Mounted to slide vertically in the slot 62 of the two fixed portions of the standards are bearing blocks 64 which are perforated to receive the bearings 15 for the shaft 15' of the upper wringer roll. In addition to the member 60, each of said standards embraces a fitting, preferably made of metal, that comprises a straight bar portion 66 that lies against and outside of the main wood portion 60 and is provided at its'upper end with a head designated as a whole by 67 that comprises a short inner plate 68 parallel with the upper end of the bar 66 and a cross member 69. The said head lies within and is adapted to reciprocate relatively to the slotted upper end of the member 60 of the standar and the cross member 69 lies within said slot 62 and directly above the bearing block 64 for the shaft of the upper roller. A spiral expansion spring 70 is interposed between the upper face of the'bearing block 64 and said cross member 69 which tends to force the upper wringer roll towards the lower wringer roll; and a threaded adjusting shaft 71 is threaded through the cross member 69 and is provided at its lower end with a head 72 that bears against the upper end of the spring 70, for the purpose of adjusting the compression of the spring acting to press the upper wringer roll towards the lower wringer oll.

The said fittings 66 are capable of vertical through the connection of said treadle member 48 with the movable members of the said standard to permit the upper wringer roll to be raised away from the lower wringer roll. The connection between the treadle member 48 and the members 66, in the type or construction of machine herein shown, whereby pressure on the foot piece 50 will depress the upper roll, is made as follows:

75, 75 designate short links which are pivoted at their upper ends through the medmm of pins 76 to the front tie bar 37 of the wringer frame. The said links are forked at their lower ends to receive bearing rollers 78 which, when the "links are swung to vertical positlon, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, bear on laterally extending foot flanges 80, 80 of the respective vertically movable fittings 66, whereby when the treadle member 48 is depressed and the shaft 45 is moved to the right, as seen on Figure 1, to mesh the gears 40 and 39, the links 75 will be swung to their vertical positions, and by reason of the fact that said links are pivoted to a fixed part ofthe wringer frame, the engagement of the rollers 78 on the foot flanges 80, 80 will draw down the fittings 66, and thereby draw down the upper wringer roll so as to bring the wringer rolls into operative relation to wring the clothes passed therebetween. "It will be noted that the-fittings 66 are 'provided near their lower ends with vertical slots so as to permit the said fittings to move vertically relatively to .the shaft 14 of the lower wringer roll; and that said fittings 66 are also provided with shorter slots 86 through which the shaft 65 of the upper wringer roll extends, said shorter slots giving the necessary play of the shaft 15' relatively to the fittings 66'to ermit the expansion springs 7 O to, normal y function as means to press'the ripper wringer roll towards, but allow it to recede from, the lower wringer roll.

In the operation of the mechanism, the wringer rolls may assume the positions shown in Figure 6, that is to say, when no pressure is applied to the treadle member 48, and when there is an abnormal obstruction, as the fingers or hand of the operator, between the wringer rolls. If there be no such abnormal obstruction between the wringer rolls, the shaft 15 of the upper wringer roll will .rest on the lower walls or bottoms of the slots 86. In this position also the links 7 5 assume a substantially horizontal position, with the meshing and demeshin bar 45 raised. When pressure is applie 50 the arm of the bell crank lever, to which the treadle member is connected, is swung downwardly, thereby moving the bar45 endwise to the right, as shown in Figure 1, and such movement of the bar 45 has the double effect of, first, acting through the shifter 43 to mesh the bevel gears 40 and 39 and thereby connect the lower wringer roll, to the drive power, and, second, to swing the links 7 5 downwardly in their arcs about their pivots 76 so as to cause the rollers 78 to bear downwardly on the foot flanges 80, 80- of the floating fittings 66, thus depressin said fittings, and the fittings act, throug the springs 70, to force or draw the upper wringer roll into its operative position. During the relative operative positions of the wringer rolls said compression springs to the treadle foot member piece 70 act in a normal way'to yieldingly hold the the position illustrated in Figure 6 and thereby allow the upper wringer roll to be raised bV the obstruction between the rolls away from the lower roll and thus relieve the fingers of the operator.

in the construction described, the shafts of the wringer rolls may be provided with turning discs 90, 91, so that the rolls, whenreleased from drivingpower and from each other, may be freely turned. Thus, for instance, should the clothes mass become so great as to practically stall the wringer, foot pressure may be released from the treadle member 48, so as to permit the rolls to separate and also disconnect the rolls from the driving power, whereby the rolls may be freely rotated for any purpose, as for instance, for. unwindin clothes that may be wound about one of 5m rolls.

While I have shown my improvements as applied to a particular type of wringer, wringer supporting mechanism, and a particular type of washing machine, it isttobe understood that the improvements are capable of application to other types of these mechanisms such as will enable the safety feature of the mechanism or device to be utilized to [prevent injury to the operators fingers, an also to provide means for unclogging the rolls when they are clogged by the clotheswrapping about the same.

I claim as my invention:

1. Safety mechanism for clothes wringers comprising, 1n combination, upright standards having fixed bearings for one wringer roll, movable bearings for the other roll, .vertically disposed floating fittings in said standards, compression abutments between said fittings and the bearings for the movable roll, foot actuated means acting on said floating fittings to press the movable roll towards the fixed roll, and automatic means arranged to permit separation of the movable from the fixed roll, said abutment being movable with the movable roll. v

, 2. Safety mechanism for clothes wringers comprising, in combination, upright standards having fixed bearings for one wringer roll, movable bearings for the other roll, floating fittings in said standards, comdrive gears,

in'eaeie y pression abutments between the upper parts of said fittings and the bearings for the movable roll' and enclosed in the standards, foot actuated means acting on the said floating fittings to press the movable roll towards the fixed roll, and automatic means operative to release said rolls one from the other when foot pressure is released.

3. Safety mechanism for power operated clothes wringers comprising, in combination with a wringer having upper and lower rolls,'the upper one of which is movable towards and from the lower roll, and power means operatively connected to the shaft of one or the rolls, embracing meshable and demeshable drive gears, of foot treadle operated means operative to simultaneously connect ower to one of the rolls and to press and hold pressed the movable roll toward the fixed roll, and automatic means arran ed to permit separation of the rolls and isconnection of ower means from the driven roll when sai foot treadle is released by removal of the o erators foot therefrom.

4. Safety mechanism for clothes wringers comprising, in combination with a wringer having upper and lower rolls, the upper of which is movable towards and from the lower, and power means operatively connected to'the shaft of one of the rolls, embracing meshable and demeshable ,operatively connected to the treadle bar, constructed to permit separation of said rolls and demeshing of the drive gears when foot pressure on the foot piece is released.

5. Safety mechanism for clothes wringers comprising in combination with a wringer having two rolls, one of which is movable towardsand from the other, and power means operativel connected to the shaft of one of the ro ls, embracing demeshable drive gears, of foot treadle means operative to simultaneously connect power to one of the rolls and to press the movable roll toward the fixed roll, embracing a shifter for one of the an endwise movable bar loosel connected thereto, and a pivoted bell cran lever, one arm of which is connected to the latter bar, and the otherarm to said treadle means, and links pivoted to the wringer frame and to said'endwise movable bar and operatively connected to the bearings ofthe upper wringer' roll. v v. 6. Safety mechansim 'for clothes wringare comprising in combination with a aving two rolls, one of which is 10 links pivotally supported power means operatively connected to one of said rolls, embracing meshable and demeshable drive gears, a shifter to mesh and demesh said drive gears, an endwise movable bar loosely connected at one end to said shifter, a pivoted bell crank lever, one arm of which is connected to the other end of said bar, a treadle member connected to the other arm of said bell crank lever, and on a fixed part of the frame and pivoted to said endwise moving bar and provided With bearings for engagement with parts movable with and operating the movable roll, to force it towards the fixed roll.

In Witness whereof I claim the foregoing as my invention, I hereunto append my signature this fifteenth day of March, 1920.

GUSTAV N. MEVES. 

